British couple fight, forced to divert Mallorca flight to France: Man arrested after woman treated for facial injuries sustained in mid-air attack
A flight from Mallorca was diverted to France after a British couple got into a heated argument on the plane, with the man arrested and the woman assaulted in the air.
Majorcan rugby club Pontent de Palma were forced to make an emergency landing in Nantes, France, on Saturday while flying back from a training camp in Dublin after a rowdy match broke out.
The group of teenagers, aged between 14 and 15, were on board the Aer Lingus plane with their parents and other passengers when the aircraft flew over Nantes.
But the argument continued to escalate and cabin crew had to intervene to end the fight.
As their attempts to calm and control the situation failed, the couple continued to argue until an alleged physical attack occurred.
An Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Mallorca was forced to land in France after an argument between a British couple spiralled out of control
The man was arrested as soon as the plane landed in Nantes, and the woman was led off the plane by medics and police officers so she could be treated for her injuries.
Passengers quickly realized something had happened on board when they saw the woman walking down the center aisle of the plane, surrounded by flight attendants and with her face covered.
The pilot was informed of the incident and after reporting it to the control tower, he was instructed to make an unscheduled emergency landing at Nantes airport.
Once the plane landed, the alleged male assailant was arrested on domestic assault and battery charges, according to Last hour.
Several officers rushed into the cockpit to arrest the man, while the woman was led from the plane by officers and medics to be treated for her facial injuries.
The flight resumed several hours later without further incident, local media reported.
Aer Lingus has been asked for comment.
This happened after an EasyJet plane en route to London had to return to Faro and make an emergency landing, just hours after a co-pilot for the budget airline fainted en route to Lisbon.
The plane with 161 passengers on board is said to have hit a bird shortly after take-off on Saturday afternoon.
The incident reportedly caused a ‘code red’ alert at Algarve airport and emergency services were mobilised, but the plane landed safely.
The plane reportedly burned fuel over the ocean for 25 minutes before landing.
The incident happened hours after a co-pilot of an EasyJet plane flying from London to Lisbon with 193 passengers on board fainted and had to be taken to hospital upon arrival.
It was not immediately clear which airport the plane took off from, but it was believed to be London Luton.
According to local sources, the pilot managed to land the plane without problems and his colleague was treated by paramedics on the runway before being taken to Santa Maria Hospital in Lisbon.
Retired Portuguese pilot Jose Correia Guedes said in an interview with X about the pilot’s alleged fainting: ‘Cases of incapacity are a plague of modern times.
‘In the 37 years that TAP has been active, I have only known one case. Nowadays it is a rare week that a plane does not make an emergency landing for this reason.
A Ryanair plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Faro airport in December last year after the pilot fell ill.
The plane was en route from London Stansted to Morocco.